Mr Shields
by HaWing
Summary: Serena hates her boss, Darien Shields and his snobby girlfriend Raye. So obviously she won't be happy when she finds out she has to go on an overnight business trip with him.
1. Who Doesn't Hate Their Boss?

Serena stared at her computer screen. It was still blank. It had been blank for over an hour. She was never going to make the deadline for her article. She bit down on her pen until the end of it snapped in her mouth.

"Faaaaaack." She threw the pen away and collapsed, letting her head thump hard on her computer keyboard.

Someone giggled behind her head, "Don't stress so much Serena, you'll get wrinkles." Mina was already closing up her laptop, ready to take off early.

Serena groaned in response. "Easy for you to say. You have that cushy job writing the relationship column."

"It's not easy, you know." She punctuated her statement with a chipper wink, "I just have a gift that makes it look easy."

Serena lifted her head and frowned at the infuriating empty document on her computer. "I'm going to get laid off if I don't make this. I know it."

"Hey, relax. You'll make your deadline. You always do." Mina swung her car keys around on her long, delicate finger, "Come on, it's Friday. Let's knock off and get some drinks."

Serena's mood picked up instantly, but she looked back to her computer. There had already been three journalists laid off that month already. She was hanging by a thread. And she just knew that Mr. Shields would love to cut that thread. He was such a phenomenal asshole.

She sighed, "I better stay."

"Suit yourself." Mina shrugged, "I'm off to do some field research." With one more wink, Mina was out the door, leaving Serena alone in the office, scrambling to get her article on Mr. Shields desk by Monday.

()()()()()()()()()

"You need to rewrite this."

Serena wanted to jump at him.

No, she wanted to storm out.

No, she wanted to tear the papers on his desk into tiny pieces.

No, she wanted to keep her job.

"What part of it needs to be rewritten?" She forced a smile onto her face. Mr. Shields gave her a look. Being phony was never one of her strong suits.

"The whole thing. It's just not up to the standard of this paper. I've made some notes for you to work from."

Serena snatched the paper from his hands, gritting her teeth and choking out the words, "Thank you. That was too kind of you."

"It wasn't kind of me. It's my job. Now go do yours."

She hated him, hated him, hated him, hated him, hated him, hated him with every fiber of her body.

It didn't take long for her to rewrite the article. It was amazing how motivated she could be when she got fired up and angry. Plus Mr. Shields notes had actually been pretty helpful.

She stopped that thought immediately and shook her head vigorously.

nope, nope, nope, nope. He was an asshole. An asshole and that's it. The finished article was entirely due to her own skills and gumption. That asshole never even did any real work. All he did was pick on the people going out into the wind and rain to get stories, then slave over hot computers for hours to craft them into perfect news articles.

He was an asshole. That was it.

She had gotten herself so fired up that she was already halfway through her next article; a recap of the grand opening for a new art gallery downtown. She didn't even notice that everyone had left for the night until someone shut the light off in the office.

She looked up, surprised. "Hey, what's up?!" She shouted into the darkness.

"What are you still doing here? Were you staring off into space and lost track of time again?"

That voice. That grating, derisive voice. Serena turned around ready to snap. It was okay if she throttled her boss as long as she wasn't on the clock, right?

The lights flicked back on so she could see his annoying face. She wished it was still dark. She didn't need to see that awful smirk.

"For your information, I was just putting the finishing touches on the art gallery story."

"Good." He didn't look the slightest bit interested in what she was saying, "Maybe you'll have it done on time for once."

She threw herself up from her desk. That was it. Time to really snap.

"Ready to go, babe?" A raven haired woman glided into the office. Mr. Shields kissed her on the cheek.

"Yeah, I was just finishing up with some things here."

Serena stared at the two of them. This was clearly his girlfriend. Maybe even his wife. She couldn't believe that someone could actually tolerate her boss long enough to be in a relationship with him. She could barely stand him for five minutes.

Clearly Mr. Shields thought that he needed to explain this silently fuming blonde to his girlfriend, so he said, "This is Serena. She covers current events."

"Oh," The woman looked down the bridge of her perky nose, "So that's the girl that's been giving you trouble."

Serena had seen that look before. It was the same smug, contemptuous look that she got from Mr. Shields. Suddenly she understood. They were perfect for each other. Both assholes.

"Yeah, I guess that's me." Serena tried to stare back with something that would make the couple feel as small as they made her feel. She puffed her chest, stuck out her lip and clapped her hands to her hips.

The woman turned away from her without a second glance. "We should get going, babe. You still haven't gotten everything packed for your trip."

Serena's ears perked up. "Trip?"

"Yes. I'm going to be away from the office for a few days this week to be at the political debate."

All Serena heard was the word _away_. She almost jumped for joy, "Well better get packing. Don't let me keep you! Bon voyage!"

The couple gave each other strange looks as they left the office with Serena waving manically at them.

She would have the rest of the week without looking at that face. She couldn't be happier.

()()()()()()()()()

"What are you doing here? I thought you had to be out of town for the debate." The words jumped out of her mouth before Serena could stop to censor her shock and disappointment at seeing Mr. Shields in the office.

He looked at her like she were either crazy or stupid. She hated when he did that. She wanted to sock the smugness off his face.

"Yes. Tomorrow." If Mr. Shields noticed her disappointment, he didn't care. "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Serena didn't like where this was going. He continued, "I'm going to need you to come with me. Can you call ahead and book two hotel rooms at the Alpha Society Hotel for us?"

All of her muscles jerked forward so that she was leaning over his desk, practically in his face, "WHAT!?" She stopped, half-composed herself, "I mean, I don't even do political stuff. Why would you be asking me to come along?"

"Believe me, I don't want to be asking you..."

A growling rage started to slowly burn it's way through her, searing into her skin and forming an angry blush on her cheeks.

"...but you know we've had a lot of layoffs lately and you're the only person I can spare around here right now."

"Fine. Great. I'm looking forward to it." Serena got up and stomped out.

"Hey Mina," She called over, "You want to blow off early tonight and do some, 'field research'?"

Mina looked up from her laptop, a reckless smile spread across her face. "On a Monday night? Of course!"

* * *

_AN: I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. This is just a fun little story that I'm working on because I wanted to try writing something lighter and more comedic than what I have done so far. Let me know what you think about it! :)_


	2. Bad to Worse

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" Serena dragged herself around her apartment, slowly throwing items into a suitcase. She was running late, but she couldn't push herself to hurry. She wanted to drag out every second before she was locked into a car for three hours with _that man_.

I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. "I HATE HIM!"

This trip was going to be torture.

She was able to throw a few decent outfits into her bag and gulp down a bite of breakfast before she heard a honk outside. She braced herself. _Here we go._

"Good Morning." Mr. Shields greeted as she slid into the passenger's side of his car. She was surprised that he drove something so sporty. '_I guess you need comfy leather seats when you have a stick up your ass.'_

"Yeah. Morning." She replied, short and dry.

He was dressed casually, not at all the way he appeared at the office. He looked strange wearing a t-shirt and jeans, like he was so uptight that casual clothes just sat awkwardly over his body.

"I got you a coffee." He gestured to the cup holder, "One of those raspberry mocha things you drink."

Serena looked at the take-out mug in surprise, "How did you know?"

"You bring them to work every morning." He raised an eyebrow and looked at her like this information should be obvious.

Despite the thoughtful gesture, she was tempted to call him a stalker under her breath, but changed her mind and just said, "Thanks."

'_If he doesn't open his mouth again, this trip might not be so bad.'_

"So what made you think you would be good at journalism?"

'_seriously?'_

"Writing classes were always my best classes in school." She said defensively.

"Yikes! I'd hate to see your marks in your other classes."

"Well at least I'm not an arrogant jerk!"

He stared at her.

Cold horror washed through her. "...Did I just say that out loud?"

He continued to stare blankly, then the corners of his mouth started to tremble and he burst into laughter. It was a sound she had never heard before. His laughter came from somewhere deep inside his stomach and poured out through his mouth, filling the air around her. It was one of those beautiful, genuine laughs that make you want to laugh along with it, even if you don't know why.

After a solid minute of laughing, he wiped tears from his eyes and said, "Well at least now I know what you think of me." The last remnants of a chuckle spilled passed his lips, "Although I was pretty sure already."

Serena sat gaping in embarrassment. Even when she was insulting him, she was the one who felt stupid.

"But really, what made you want to be a journalist?" He asked again.

"I don't know…" She struggled to regain her cool, "I just love telling a story. One day I'm going to move on from this paper and do something big like covering celebrity stories."

The corners of his mouth dipped. Serena mentally dared him to make a snide remark, but all he said was, "Well I'm glad you stopped by our little paper on your journey to glory."

"Just what is that supposed to mean, Mr. Shields?"

"What do you mean 'what's that supposed to mean'?" He sounded annoyed, "It means exactly what I said. Jeez you read too much into everything."

Serena huffed, "Well that's what makes me such a good journalist, isn't it?"

He laughed again. Not as long, or as hard, but a deep laugh that tickled Serena's ears when she heard it.

"And jezus, call me Darien, please."

The car ride wasn't half as bad as she expected it would be. Mr. Shields was a pompous asshole, but she might actually be able to tolerate Darien. He was still serious and even pretty arrogant, but something about him seemed… easier than the guy he was at work.

Once they had arrived in the city, Darien started barking orders about what he expected her to do for the interviews that afternoon and he seemed an awful lot like Mr. Shields. She sighed. Of course the change in persona was too good to be true.

The day scraped along painfully, Mr. Shield's voice a constant buzz in her ear. Nothing she did was ever right. After every interview he chewed her out for asking the wrong questions, or asking too many questions, or not asking enough questions, or just to hear his own stupid voice.

She was exhausted by the time they finished the interviews at 8 p.m. Her feet ached, her brain was mush and she couldn't stand to be around Mr. Shields for one more second. He had fully returned to his asshole self and every nice she'd thought about him that morning had totally disappeared. He was just an asshole.

She could hardly make it to the front desk of the hotel without collapsing. Mr. Shields walked up coolly, and said to the receptionist, "I have a reservation under Darien Shields."

The woman's fingers clicked away on the keyboard and she looked up, frowning, "I'm sorry, Sir, we don't have any rooms under that name."

His face fell. He licked his lips nervously, "Do you have any reservations under Serena Tsukino?"

The receptionist made a few more clicks on her keyboard and came back frowning again, "I'm sorry, we don't have any reservations under that name either."

He turned. Slowly. Stone face. And looked at Serena, "Did you make the reservations as I requested?"

Serena stared back with anger fueled by exhaustion, "Uh, did you ask me to?"

Mr. Shields looked like he was going to break, "Yes. I did."

"Okay, big whoop, so I forgot. I'm sure they have rooms." She walked up to the desk to take care of things herself.

The receptionists frown deepened, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid we're all booked up." Serena was getting pretty sick of hearing this woman say 'sorry.' She continued, "There's the football game this weekend as well as the political debate and we really have no vacancies whatsoever."

"So what are we supposed to do?" That bitchy boss had never sounded so angry, "Sleep in our car?"

The receptionist cut in quickly, "I can call around and see if any other hotels in the city have vacancies."

The woman disappeared quickly, probably to avoid Mr. Shield's temper. His glare burned into Serena. She glared back with a face that said, _so what?_

The receptionist returned, "There's only one available room in the city."

"Well one won't do." Mr. Shields spat back. "We need two rooms."

"Sir, I'm telling you that there is only one. It's at the Waterfront Inn downtown. They said that they will hold the room for you for twenty minutes." The woman's tone said that she wasn't going to take anything more from the crotchety pair.

He sighed, "Come on. Let's go."

Serena followed him back to the car. He slammed the door on his side. She was exhausted. She ached. All she wanted was to relax in a hot bath and now this father of all assholes was treating her like crap.

"What was that?" She snapped.

"What?"

"The way you spoke to me back there."

"Oh, was that a surprise to you? I would have thought with how incompetent you are, you'd be used to people being pissed off at you." He shouted. Serena had never heard him raise his voice before. She was so angry, she couldn't even think of words to express it. She didn't know what to do. Suddenly her eyes were wet. Then her cheeks were wet. Then she was crying.

"Oh, crap," Mr. Shields glanced away from the road to look at her, "Look, I'm sorry."

She turned away from him, staring out the window, trying to swallow her light sobs.

"I was an asshole okay? I was pissed off, but that's no excuse for what I said to you."

Serena sniffed, "It's how you always talk to me." She turned to see a stab of hurt in his eyes.

"hey, don't say that."

"It's true." She felt a choke in her throat, "You always talk to me like I'm an idiot or a… a child."

"I… " Darien looked back to the road and tightened his hands around the steering wheel, "... I'm sorry."

They checked into the Waterfront Inn without saying a word to one another. They carried their bags up to the single room. Inside there was just one queen sized bed.

"You can have the bed." Darien said, quietly.

* * *

**AN: Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews on my last chapter. I'm so happy to hear that people are reading and enjoying my story! :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, there's more to come!**


	3. Truce

Serena sat up groggily. Dust moats swirled in the pale light coming in through the curtains. She took a minute to register where she was. Then she saw Darien curled up on the couch.

Curled was the key word. The small hotel couch was a few inches too short for him, so he had to bend his legs to fit. His chest rose and fell softly under his white t-shirt. His face was nicer when he was asleep, Serena thought. When he was awake, he was such a dick that you couldn't tell that he was actually handsome. But right now his mouth was shut, and that awful pinched look in his eyebrows was softer. She could look at him without worrying if he was going to snap or say something rude.

Serena looked at the clock. 6:00 a.m. They still had two hours before their first interview of the day. Her head collapsed back into the plush pillow. She closed her eyes and lay there. She rolled over. Then she sat up with a sigh. She wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep.

She reached for her laptop and started typing up some of the material from the day before. She might as well get some work done if she wasn't going to sleep.

The clock read 6:47 when Darien started to shift on the couch. Serena looked up. She had almost forgotten he was there. His face looked like he was just as surprised to see her. He looked around the room, dazed with sleep. Then he looked back to Serena.

"Morning." He said, not entirely hiding his sheepishness. He wasn't the kind of guy who liked to be caught sleeping.

"Good Morning." Serena said. She wasn't sure how she wanted to deal with him after last night. He had been awful to embarrass her in public, but he had apologized and she knew, or wanted to believe, that he meant it.

He looked at the clock. "Have you eaten yet?" His voice was dark and heavy with sleep.

"I was just working with some of the material we got yesterday." She said, closing her laptop.

His eyebrows jumped a half a millimeter, "You're working hard. Let me take you out for breakfast."

He caught her off guard. Was this another apology? It would take a lot more than small gestures for her to forget how he constantly belittled her, undermining her confidence. That would need entire personality overhaul. But if he was going to make an effort then she was willing to give him a chance, and hope he didn't blow it again.

"I just need a few minutes to get ready." Serena took her suitcase into the bathroom. Everything else aside, she had never said no to free food before.

()()()()()

His entire approach changed. He let her lead more of the interviews. Afterwards Serena always saw him bite softly on his lip— holding back what might otherwise come out as a rude comment.

Serena was wary of this new Mr. Shields— or Darien as he asked to be called. He was being more thoughtful and respectful and all around less of an ass, but he was just so different. She had no idea how to deal with him because no matter how nice he was being, It was hard to let her guard down around someone who had made her feel so awful just days before.

"Let's call it a day." He said at 6:00 pm. "I'm tired and you're hungry. I'll find somewhere for us to get dinner."

Serena's stomach growled. Darien really did know how to get on her good side.

()()()()()

Darien pushed his food around on his plate, "I should apologize." He said, looking down at the table and avoiding Serena's eyes.

Serena's eyebrows snapped up, she quickly tried to recover a cool expression. "Oh? What for?"

"For everything." Darien sighed, sat back in his chair and looked Serena in the eye, "I've been a jerk to you."

Serena blinked. Nothing had prepared her for this. What were people supposed to say in this situation? _Yes, you're a jerk. Thank you for acknowledging it?_

"Well, yeah, you kind of have." She said.

"I didn't mean—" He fiddled with a fork on the table, "I mean, I didn't want to make you feel like crap, but I'm sure I did."

Serena nodded softly, holding his gaze with her own. Her heart raced as he continued hesitantly, "I acted the way that I did because I wanted to help you improve as a journalist. I didn't think about the way I was making you feel." He set the fork down and laid his hands out on the table. "I was stupid."

Serena was paralyzed. She didn't even know how she wanted to respond. His confession left her feeling like he was standing in front of her naked, she felt almost shy by the vulnerability. His blue eyes burned sofly. Her heart started beating faster in her chest. She reached her hand out and laid it in his open palm.

"It's okay," She said, "I know you're a good guy."

He closed his fingers around hers, unexpectedly. Her heart skipped a beat. Tingles prickled under her skin when his lips relaxed into a small, slow smile.

"It means a lot to me… I'll try to show you more respect from now on."

Heat grew under Serena's cheeks. She wanted to pull her hand away. She was relieved when he let go, but her heart thudded against her chest when his skin broke contact with hers.

()()()()()()()()()

They were still staying in the little single bed hotel room. Serena looked at the tiny couch in the corner and said, "Maybe you should take the bed tonight." She surprised herself by the words that came out of her own mouth.

Darien stiffened. "No, I couldn't."

"I think you should." Serena chewed her thumbnail, "It's my fault anyways. I was the one who was supposed to book the rooms. It's not fair for you to sleep on the couch."

"That's really not necessary."

"Well…" Serena looked the bed over, "It's a big bed. What if we both slept in it."

Darien's posture went from stiff to rigid, "I'm not sure that would be more comfortable."

"I'm sure it would be." Serena gestured to the tiny sagging couch.

Darien paused, didn't say anything, eyed the bed, eyed the couch, looked over towards Serena and said, "Okay."

Serena's heart thumped hard against her chest.

She went into the bathroom to shower get changed into her pajamas. Her heart raced. Why did she just do that? What was she thinking? It's completely not normal to share a bed with your boss. She wondered if she could take it back without making it too awkward. Or maybe she could sneak off and sleep on the couch instead.

When she got back to the room, Darien had already fallen asleep on top of the blankets with the lights on. At least he had put his pajamas on before crashing. Serena tip-toed over to him and gently pulled a blanket over him.

She looked at his sleeping body in the bed. Butterflies tickled her stomach. Getting into the bed with him just felt _wrong_.

She dug her laptop out of her bag and sat down on the couch, deciding to just ignore the dilemma in favour of getting work done. Her fingers clicked on the keyboard and words began to appear on the screen. She wasn't looking at the clock. She didn't want to be aware of how late it was getting. Her eyes were so heavy. They started drooping. The screen went black. She felt her hands relax on the keyboard. Her breath slow.

Serena's eyes fluttered gently as she felt arms wrap around her body. She was being lifted, carried, laid down in a soft bed. She heard a click and the light shut off. The blankets rustled and shifted next to her. Her eyes closed as she fell back into sleep.

* * *

_AN: Thanks so much to everyone who is reading and enjoying my story. It really makes it more fun to write, knowing that other people are enjoying it too._


	4. That Moment

Serena opened her eyes. For a moment she was disorientated before she remembered that she was in the hotel room. Her eyes fell on the clock on the side table; 6:25. She let her head rest back onto the pillow, prepared to snooze for at least another twenty minutes.

Sleep gently tugged her consciousness away as she slid back into sleep. The beginnings of a dream had started to form when she felt the covers pull away from her. Her eyes shot open. She looked to the couch. Darien wasn't there. Of course he wasn't there. He was in the bed with her.

She was afraid to look over, at some point she had crossed her own comfort level, and it was probably at the same point that she decided it would be okay to share a bed with her boss. She decided to forget snoozing and sneak out of bed before he woke up. Exactly as she was thinking this, Darien rolled over, stretched his arm over her, and pulled her into his body.

Serena froze.

By his breathing she could tell that he was still asleep. He must have thought she was his girlfriend. The warmth of his body spread between them. She was so close to him that she could feel the muscles in his chest against her back. For a split second she didn't want to move.

Then she remembered that this was her boss. Her boss who had a girlfriend. Her boss who she hated. At least some of the time. She couldn't forget that this wasn't Darien. This was Mr. Shields.

She thought about coughing to wake him up, but then realized how awkward it would be if he were to wake up while spooning her. She certainly couldn't stay there, wrapped in his arms, held against his body, enjoying his touch.

She froze again, paralyzed by her own thoughts.

_Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Screw it._

She threw his arm off and hurled herself out of the bed. That was one too many lines to cross. She could not, would not, let herself think about Darien Shields that way. No. No. No. No. No.

Somehow, through all this, he was still asleep. Serena went into the bathroom to get dressed and recompose herself, cursing her heart for beating so hard. When she was finished she looked herself up and down in the mirror. Her red skirt hit just above the knee, pinching in at the waist, complemented by a matching jacket and white blouse that hung slightly open above her chest. All in all, she couldn't look any better. She threw her reflection an accusatory look.

"Who are you trying to look so good for?" She scowled, doing up one more button on her blouse to cover any trace of cleavage.

Things were getting out of hand. She had to admit to herself that she liked laying in bed with him this morning. Really liked it. And she knew that she shouldn't.

"uughh" She groaned, slapping her palm into her forehead. One more day. She could get through one more day. Tonight they would drive home and that would be the end of this. He would go back to being an asshole and she could go back to hating him.

()()()()()()()()()

Serena managed to keep her distance from Darien, both mentally and physically. She didn't want to encourage any of the feelings she was having. It wasn't just that he was her boss or that he had a girlfriend. It was because despite having a good heart, he was a jerk, and Serena couldn't let herself fall for a jerk.

So it really annoyed her when he smiled and said, "Should we have dinner to celebrate this being over with?"

How would a normal person respond to this invitation?

"I um, I… " She looked into his eyes and swallowed. Maybe that was what was making this so difficult. He had one of those smiles that spread through his whole face. That was how he could go from stoney jerk one minute to leaving her flustered the next.

"So... ?" His smile melted into something more confused.

"Maybe we should just get going. It will be a long drive home."

"Well we'll have to eat dinner at some point. It will be faster if we don't have to stop."

"Right." She realized she had lost this one. "Then yeah, might as well eat before."

()()()()()()()()()

Darien seemed to already know the way to the restaurant and when they arrived, he gave the host his name.

"You made a reservation?" Serena asked with a raised eyebrow.

Darien looked down at her, "I guess it shouldn't surprise me that you wouldn't think of that. Have you ever planned for anything in your life?"

Serena's back arched, her face flushed. This was why she wouldn't let herself get emotionally involved with Darien Shields. "For your information, I _plan_ on smacking you if you say something like that to me again."

She should have expected he would laugh. He was such an idiot.

The host returned to tell them that their table was ready. As they followed, Darien put his hand on the small of her back to guide her. Tingles ran up her spine. Her breath caught in her throat. If he was an idiot then she was a mega idiot. She should not let him have this effect on her.

They sat down at the table. This was really the last thing that Serena wanted right now. She was both in intimate quarters with Darien and forced to subject herself to conversation with him. She couldn't imagine how horrible the car ride was going to be.

"You know, I've been thinking." He said without looking up from his menu, "I probably come off as a jerk."

Serena stared blankly.

He continued, eyes still scanning the menu, " ...but I should probably explain myself. I never wanted to make you feel bad about anything. I just want to see you be the best journalist that you can be. I harp on you because I see so much potential." He looked up to Serena's flabbergasted face and smiled, "I guess I suck at that stuff."

She blinked, shaking her head. All she could think to say was, "Yeah, you kind of do." Then she added, trying to keep from blushing "Thanks for believing in me."

Darien went back to his menu. Explosions were going off in her brain. She was just now realizing that she could deal with the asshole Mr. Shields. It was the sweet Darien that was dangerous.

()()()()()()()()()

Serena was relieved when it was time to get on the road. Strictly because she was terrified that if she let her guard down, she would actually enjoy herself and that would be a problem. Keeping on top of her emotions was getting exhausting.

They walked out to Darien's car and he opened the door for her to get in.

_Of course._

She wanted to roll her eyes at his annoying sappy-sweet chivalrousness. Did he think this was the sixteen hundreds or something?

"Thanks." She said as she got into the car, then immediately regretted it. She shouldn't be encouraging him.

He got into the drivers seat and pulled out of the parking lot. Serna exhaled a breath of relief. They still had a long car ride together, but she already felt like the trip was behind them. By the time they got back to the office, everything would go back to normal. She leaned her head against the window. The best thing that she could do now was fall asleep.

()()()()()()()()()

She opened her eyes when the car stopped. They were outside her apartment complex. In the glow of the headlights, she noticed how tightly Dariens hands were gripping the wheel.

"Oh good," He said when he noticed her sit up, "I wasn't sure the best way to wake you."

In her sleepy daze, Serena let her guard down and smiled. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't very good company for the drive."

Darien smiled, "Nah, you're much better company when you're sleeping. That way you're quiet."

Just then Serena remembered how she'd promised to hit him if he made another rude comment. She didn't have a second to digest the thought. Frustration took over and her hand struck out. Before she even realized what was happening, Darien wrapped his hand around her wrist, catching her strike in the air.

"Guess I deserved that." He smiled for a second, then his expression turned serious. He lowered her arm, but didn't let go of her wrist. She suddenly realized how close they were sitting. Then she noticed how slow and heavy Darien was breathing and how it matched her own breath. Oddly, the moment felt like saying goodnight at the end of a date. Then she realized, in a flash of horror, that it was because she was hoping he would kiss her.

* * *

_AN: Finally, eh? ;) Sorry to keep you all waiting. Thank you to everyone who has been reading and enjoying my story._


	5. Clearing My Head

All Serena felt was her heart against her chest and Darien's hand on her wrist. Moonlight cast shadows on the contours of his face, glinting off his eyes and illuminating his lips. She was afraid he was going to kiss her, and afraid that he wasn't going to, and terrified that she wanted him to. Her breath stuck in her throat.

Slowly, he lowered her arm, and loosened his fingers "Thanks for coming with me and helping out with all of this." He said, releasing her wrist. "I knew I could count on you."

And that was it. All her expectations sank to the bottom of her stomach and sat there hard. The spot where his hand had been suddenly felt cold and bare. Serena tried to pull herself back together. She smiled, "No problem."

"Have a good night."

Serena nodded, "You too."

She got out of the car, taking one last look at him before she did. Her heart was still beating a thousand times a second, hyper aware of his eyes on her as she walked to the door. Inside, she immediately melted into her bed. She finally had to accept that she totally, completely and hopelessly had a crush on her boss. And he had a girlfriend. And he was an asshole (sometimes). And just no.

no. no. no. no. no. NO.

Her mind went over that moment in the car, sending her heart racing again. She couldn't resist rewriting the scene, imagining what it would have been like if he had kissed her. Her chest tightened, thinking about what his lips would have felt like, wondering where he would have put his hands….

She slapped her palm to her face. There were so many problems with what she was thinking. Darien's girlfriend had seemed like a snobby B-word, but that didn't mean Serena was low enough to make a move on another girls man. And besides, It was Darien, Mr. Shields. She was just going to have to… not feel this way… and maybe find a new job.

()()()()()

Butterflies tickled Serena's stomach as she walked into the office on Monday. She couldn't really say that her attempts to shut down her feelings for Darien were working, but at least she wasn't letting herself think about him… as much. She turned on her computer, taking a long sip from her coffee.

"Morning!" Mina exclaimed as she breezed into the office.

"Morning." Serena returned the greeting.

Mina stopped in her tracks, "What happened on the trip?"

"What do you mean?" Serena suddenly felt hot.

Mina's intensity doubled, "You met someone, didn't you?"

"No."

"You DID. It's all over your face." Mina pressed in closer, "Don't lie to me Serena, I can tell!"

"You're out of your gourd." Serena turned back to her computer, afraid her blush was going to burn through her face.

"Good morning, ladies" Darien didn't look up from the papers he was reading as he walked through the room into his office.

Mina's mouth gaped. She looked from Serena to Darien and back again, "Oh my God!"

"What?" Serena felt trapped under Mina's keen eyes.

"You and Mr. Shields…" She put her hand to her mouth, "Oh my god!"

"What? No. Shut up."

Mina's eyes were wide. She leaned in and whispered, "What happened between the two of you on the trip?"

Serena pushed her away. "Nothing. Buzz off."

"Serena there's no point in lying to me. I have a gift for romance, remember?"

Serena rolled her eyes, "As if you would let me forget."

"So tell me. What happened?"

Mina was practically jumping onto the desk.

"Nothing."

Serena's cold attitude fell on her like a wet blanket. Mina backed up and paused thoughtfully, then said slowly, "... but you wanted it to."

Serena's cheeks burned.

"Oh my God, you wanted something to happen!" Mina hissed.

Serena's eyes shifted to Mr. Shields office door, "Quiet down. Please!"

"Sorry." Mina's grin spread from ear to ear, her eyes burning wildly. If she did have a gift, it was for gossip, not romance. "So are you going to make your move?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Umm, no."

"Why not?"

"Throw a dart. You'll hit a reason." Serena turned back to her computer, trying to ignore her.

Mina put her finger to her chin, "I always thought you two make a good couple."

"Don't tell me that's something you've thought about." Serena's head snapped back in Mina's direction.

"Sure." She smiled dreamily, "You're such an airhead, you would be really well balanced by his boring, down to earth personality."

Serena's face was now hotter than the sun, "Yeah well you forgot what an asshole he is."

Mina's looked quizzical, "I don't think he's as big a jerk as you think."

"Are you crazy? He says rude things all the time."

Mina shrugged, "Guess I never noticed."

"Okay, well he also has a girlfriend."

"Ohhhhh," Mina leaned her head back and whistled.

"What, you mean your magic powers didn't tell you that?"

"I'm gifted Serena, not perfect."

Serena rolled her eyes.

"Well, screw her. I say make your move anyways."

Serena's eyes exploded, "Mina!"

"What?"

"That is so not cool!"

"Well if they're meant to be then it would take a lot more than little old you to tear them apart." She knocked serena lightly on the head.

"Yeah, and either way I'm a tacky homewrecker."

"err, yeah I guess that's technically true…"

Serena buried her face in her hands, "Ugh, I just need to get over this."

Mina's devilish grin returned, "What if I set you up with someone else?"

"That... could work…" Serena said hesitantly.

"Excellent!" Mina clapped her hands together. "I know just the guy. I'll set up a group date tonight!"

Serena smiled. At least Mina was having fun with this.

Darien appeared in the doorway of his office, putting a sudden freeze on the conversation. "Serena, could I see you for a moment?" Serena gulped. Mina grinned gleefully. Darien looked stern and cool as she rose and followed him into his office. He closed the door with a deafening click that put goosebumps on Serena's skin. She didn't feel comfortable being alone with him anymore. Not since her mind had started going in some pretty unprofessional directions.

Darien sat at his desk. "I want to get your feelings on working late this week."

"Ummm, terrible?"

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards, "Okay well then I'm afraid I'm going to ask you to do something you won't like."

"I get it."

Darien seemed taken aback by how agreeable she was being. He continued,"I wouldn't normally ask you to do this, but I've had something come up and I'm going to need to leave early today. I have some things I'd like you to finish for me."

"Wait." Her brain was computing what he was saying, "You mean you want me to finish your work?"

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No I just, I mean I'm surprised you would want me to finish your work."

"I trust you'll do a good job after seeing your write ups from this weekend. They were excellent."

Serena was caught off guard by the compliment, "um, thank you."

His eyes scanned her and a smile spread slowly across his face. "You don't need to thank me. It's just the truth."

Serena was feeling warm again. Why did his smile suddenly have that effect on her?

She cleared her throat, "Well I did have plans with someone tonight, but I guess I can postpone."

"Oh?" He quirked his eyebrow, his smile melted, "I'm sorry I didn't realize that."

Was he jealous? Serena's heart started drumming hard against her chest, "Yeah, but no big deal, I can reschedule with _him_."

She swore his face changed when she said the word, 'him'. Or maybe she just hoped that it did. She internally swore at herself. She was not supposed to be playing this game.

"I appreciate it." He said stiffly. Serena didn't find it the stiffness weird; he was almost always stiff.

She got up and left the office, sitting down at her desk. Mina looked like she was going to jump out of her skin with excitement.

"What?" Serena finally asked.

"Nothing, nothing!" Mina pretended to be typing something a little too furiously.

Serena sighed, "I think we're going to have to reschedule tonight. Dar— Mr. Shields asked me to stay late."

Fire burned behind Mina's eyes, she jumped from her chair, "He wants you to stay late with him?!"

"No. Alone."

"Oh." Mina sat down, disappointed, "Well okay, stay an extra hour or two and then catch up with us at the bar."

Serena thought of what Darien had said in his office. It gave her a weird tingly feeling in her stomach. "Mmm, better not…"

"Poo. You are just no fun today."

"Sorry." serena shrugged.

Mina was already recovering her perky attitude, "Okay, fine we'll do it tomorrow, but you better dress to kill cause this guy's cute."

By the time she was ready to go home, Serena was exhausted and red eyed, but she had a glowing sense of satisfaction. It felt good that Darien put his trust in her. She wanted to make sure that he did it again. She didn't stop to wonder what it meant that she was willing to put off a date to get work done for him.

()()()()()

The night of their group date, Serena made sure she looked fantastic. Her palms were sweaty, but she wasn't nervous, more excited. She hadn't been on a date in almost forever. Maybe that was the reason why she had started crushing on Darien to begin with.

Her heels clicked on the tile floor as she entered the bar, making her feel sexy and mature. She spotted Mina sitting with a group of girls and one, lonesome, out of place guy. Mina was been right; he was cute. Not dark haired, stern and dapper, but cute.

Serena grimace. When did she start comparing guys to Darien Shields?

Mina waved to her and rose to give her a quick hug.

"Serena, this is Andrew."

Andrew smiled, taking her hand, "Hey, nice to meet you." Serena wished that his touch made her nervous. She wished that it sent shivers down her spine and put butterflies in her stomach. She wished it made her feel something, anything, but the reality was that she was still comparing him to someone else.

"You too." She tried to return his smile, and said jokingly, "Looks like you crashed girls night."

He laughed a little awkwardly, "Yeah, I invited a guy friend. He should be on his way."

Serena took a seat next to Andrew, determined to give him a chance. There was something definitely wrong with her if she didn't try to make a move on a single guy this cute.

Just then Andrew waved to someone behind her, "Oh hey, here's my buddy coming now."

Serena turned.

Of course.

It was _him_.

* * *

_AN: Thanks everyone for reading and letting me know that you're enjoying the story. I guess I should apologize for the cliffhanger in the last chapter. :p I left things on a bit of a loose end again, but hopefully it's not too bad. Let me know what you think!_


	6. What a (Stupidly) Tangled Web We Weave

Serena turned to Andrew, "You're friends with Darien Shields?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

"He's my boss." She groaned.

"Ohhh," Andrew chuckled, "Awkward."

"Yeah."

Darien sat down at the table, followed by his girlfriend. If he was surprised to see Serena, he hid it well. Of course he hid everything well.

Mina introduced everyone at the table and stopped when she got to Darien's girlfriend.

"This is my girlfriend Raye." Darien supplied for her.

"Nice to meet you." Mina's attention suddenly focused intensely to her. "So how long have you two been together?" She asked.

Raye looked reluctant, then finally said, "About two years."

"Yowza, that's a long time! Why aren't you married?" With a few drinks, Mina was completely shameless.

Raye put a hand to her chin, "I really think that's quite a personal question."

Mina turned to Darien, "Why haven't you asked her to marry you?"

Darien's eyes bulged. He looked like he was choking on the words in his throat.

"Hey leave those kids alone." Andrew cut in.

Mina turned away reluctantly with a devious look that said that she was going to corner them again when Andrew wasn't paying attention. Darien looked relieved, though still flustered. Raye had a cold, unreadable expression on her face. Andrew turned to Serena.

"So you work at the paper with Darien?"

"Yup." She chirped.

"And you like it there?"

"Yeah, for the most part." She laughed, "What do you do?"

"I'm in medical school right now."

Serena didn't try to hide the fact that she was impressed, "Wow! You must be pretty smart."

Andrew laughed, "If you say so."

Serena noticed the light blush on his cheeks. It made her own smile feel shy. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Mina had returned to bullying Darien and Raye. Andrew was so absorbed with Serena that he didn't see them both shrinking in their seats.

Andrew leaned into Serena, "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Sure." She nodded. A few minutes later, she had a margarita in her hand. She noticed three empty beer bottles in front of Darien. He was visibly sweating now, and Raye looked like she was going to hack off Mina's head.

Mina tapped on Serena's shoulder, "I have to go to the bathroom. Would you join me?"

Serena turned to Andrew, who had now put his arm around her, "I'll be right back."

"I'll be waiting." He grinned.

Mina pounced on her almost before they were out of earshot of the rest of the group. "So?" Her eyes were hungry for details.

"So. Andrew is a nice guy."

"Am I not an amazing matchmaker?"

"You're drunk."

"True." Mina agreed.

"So how are the dark duo?"

Mina cocked her head quizzically.

"I mean Darien and Raye."

Mina grinned, "Oh! Terrible!"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean they hate eachother!"

"Why is that a good thing?" Serena was shook her head slowly.

"Well it's a good thing that they enlisted the services of the worlds best matchmaker to put them back on track."

"No. They didn't." Her heart started palpitating in her chest, "Stay out of their business."

"Serena, I can't! I can't let two people ruin their chances for love." Mina gestured wildly with her arms, "I have to break them up."

"Wait, what?" She tried to contain her interest in the subject. It shouldn't matter to her. There was a sweet, handsome doctor-to-be waiting for her. There was no reason to take interest in the romantic issues of her dark haired, dark mooded boss. Mina however, may need some supervision.

"Weren't you listening? She's only dating him because his dad is in business with hers."

"That doesn't mean they hate each other." Her heart was beating faster now, she could feel the sweat on her palms.

"That was my own observation." Mina grinned, "I think they resent each other because they both wish they were dating other people, but they don't want to cause a rift between their parents."

"Have I told you already that you're drunk?" She couldn't hear anymore.

"I have to think of a way to break them up… maybe I should just tell them that they hate each other." She tapped her lip while pondering, then she paused with her eyes on Serena. "Oh! Perfect!"

"No."

"If you seduce Darien, he'll have to break it off with Raye."

"No I won't and no he won't"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Mina was getting overly excited by her idea.

"Mina, you're a terrible matchmaker!" Serena cut in, "What about Andrew?"

"Hmmm, well that was never going to work out anyways." Mina waved her hand dismissively, "You're falling for Darien way too hard."

Serena's eyes grew wide, "I am not!"

"However, it would be pretty rude to invite him out then just ditch him." Mina continued to ponder the situation, "Well I guess he'll just have to settle for me then. It's the only solution."

Serena stared at the incomprehensibleness of Mina's mind. "I'm not doing this. I like Andrew and I'm not going along with any stupid plans that your drunk brain cooks up."

"Hey, I'm a matchmaking genius!"

Serena snorted, "Do you have to go to the bathroom or not?"

"Oh, no." Mina shook her head, "I just wanted to talk to you alone."

Serena couldn't help laughing at Mina's infuriating insanity. They left the ladies room and picked their way through the bar. Serena felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Andrew.

"Want to dance?" His smile, like his blush, was contagious.

"Yeah, I do." Serena let him lead her to the dance floor, and wrap his hands around her. His cologne was light and sweet and his body filled her senses as they moved with the music. The song ended with both of them taking heavy breaths and grinning at each other.

"Let's get another drink." Andrew grabbed Serena by the hand, leading her back to the table.

When they got within eyesight of their table, they paused. Mina was standing a short distance away. It was just Darien and Raye at the table. Their bodies were turned towards each other, both their eyebrows furrowed impatiently. Raye gestured sharply with her hand. They couldn't hear most of the words that were being said in hissed whispers, but their tone and the venom on their faces said everything.

Raye spotted them and cut herself off immediately. "I should go."

"Raye, don't do this." Darien said in a low voice.

"No. It's getting late. I should go." She said, standing.

Serena shot Mina a look and mouthed, "Look what your meddling has done."

Mina looked genuinely upset.

Raye brushed past Serena and Andrew, "Goodnight."

The three sat down awkwardly at the table. "What did you do?" Serena whispered to Mina.

"Nothing!" She defended, "I left and when I came back they were at each other's throats. I told you. They hate eachother."

"So, who wants another drink?" Andrew said, trying to burry the awkwardness.

"I'll have one." Darien said too quickly.

Andrew flagged a waitress and ordered another round of drinks. Darien picked at the label on his empty beer bottle, building a pile of little torn up pieces of paper. Andrew, Mina and Serena exchanged looks. The fight was a heavy drag on the atmosphere. The rest of the conversation was stiff and awkward with stolen glances in Darien's direction. Andrew finished half his drink before turning to Serena.

"Well it is getting late. I should probably get going."

Serena nodded, "It was great meeting you."

"I'd really like to see you again." He leaned in, "Could I get your number?"

Serena saw Darien in her peripheral vision, ripping at a huge chunk of paper from his beer label.

"Sure." She grinned as she typed her number into his phone. Andrew brought her body into his to hug her goodbye and she was disappointed that after all this, she couldn't ignore the fact that he still didn't make her feel anything. No butterflies, no nervousness, nothing. He was perfect on paper, but her body failed to recognize it.

He gave Mina a quick hug goodbye, then nodded to Darien, "Night, man."

Darien grunted.

"Well, I should be going tooo…" Mina began, then trailed off as a young woman in a strapless dress approached their table.

She put a perfectly manicured hand on Darien's shoulder, "Can I have a dance?"

Serena couldn't guess why this woman thought it would be a good idea to ask this sullen, miserable looking man to dance. Darien looked up drunkenly, blinked and grumbled, "I have a girlfriend." He took a swig from his beer, "Sorry." The woman looked unphased. She wished them a good night and left.

So they hadn't broken up. Serena felt the boulder sink in her stomach. Stupid, she should have never thought that. She should never thought about it at all.

"Umm, yeah, so I better go. Night!" Mina quickly kissed Serena on both cheeks and ran out the door as fast as she could.

Serena looked to Darien and coughed awkwardly. "I guess everyone is calling it a night." She smiled.

"Yeah." He sighed.

Serena chewed her tongue, then her lip, then her fingernail. Finally she asked, "Is everything okay?"

Darien perked his head up, "You want to get some fresh air?"

"Sure, want to walk me to the bus stop?"

Darien downed the last of his beer, "Sure."

The night felt good after the hot, stale air of the bar. Serena shivered and rubbed her hands over her bare arms, then tried to silence that stupid drumming in her chest when Darien slid his arm around her, pulling her into the heat of his body.

They walked in silence for a while until Serena asked, "Are you sure everything is okay? You seemed pretty down when Raye left."

"Yeah." His words were slurred and foggy, but his mood seemed lighter than it was in the bar. "She has these tiffs sometimes. I guess I piss her off a lot." He laughed a little

"I can see how that would happen."

Darien laughed again, harder. "Can I tell you something, Serena?"

"Sure." Her heart was now pounding rapidly. She wished he wasn't so close to her, sure that he could hear it.

"Being around you makes me happy."

Her heart squeezed and exploded.

'I… I'm glad."

The bus screeched up to the yellow transit sign.

Darien squeezed her hand, "I'm glad you were here tonight."

"Me too."

She could felt his warm breath, smell his cologne. It was so much darker and earthier than Andrews had been. She thought he was going to whisper something in her ear so she leaned in and that was when his lips fell on her cheek.

He smiled, "Goodnight."

"Night." She breathed before climbing onto the bus.

* * *

_AN: I promised I wouldn't leave things on a cliffhanger this chapter, so there you go... hopefully I kept my promise. Thanks to everyone for reading!_


	7. Someone's Going to Get Hurt

"_There only is, only ever was, you." His body pressed into hers and she could taste the truth of his words on his lips. "I love you."_

()()()()()()()()()

Serena lay frozen in her bed. Her eyes wide, staring beyond the ceiling into her own shock.

She was shocked that it was a dream, shocked that it felt so real and completely, utterly shocked at how much she wanted it.

She blamed him. He knew what he was doing last night. Or at least she thought he did. God, it was so hard to tell. This had to be some kind of sexual harassment in the workplace bullshit. Maybe he was trying to drive her crazy so she'd quit.

She covered her face with her hands.

There were only two things she could do: make her move or get over him.

Everything inside of her screamed for her to tell him how she felt. Even if he didn't feel the same way, at least she could put this to bed.

And if he did… She thought about Raye. Even if she didn't technically like her, Serena wasn't sure if she could cross a person that way... but Raye and Darien seemed pretty miserable together. It wasn't like they really had the healthiest relationship.

A nagging voice in her head, chirped up, _If someone brings an unhealthy lunch to work, does that mean you can just eat it on them?_

But the relationship looked like it was nearing the end of it's life anyways.

_So are old people. Should you kill old people?_

But Raye seemed like an awful person.

_And you would be too if you got involved with their relationship._

But she wanted him. She wanted to hear her name on his lips, she wanted to feel his hands on her body, she just wanted to be with him.

And that nagging little voice had nothing to say to that.

Serena had to talk to Mina. Crazy as she was, she did usually have pretty good advice when it came to this type of thing. As long as she wasn't drunk, or on a hyperactive tangent. Even if Mina didn't have anything helpful to say, Serena couldn't keep this in her head anymore.

Serena called and they agreed to meet up for breakfast. She threw on some clothes and jaunted off to the cafe down the road, surprised when she got there, that Mina was talking to someone else at the counter. Then she was even more surprised when she recognized that long dark hair and perfectly upturned nose.

_Crap_

She tried to duck back out the door, but they had already seen her. There was no choice, but to suck it up and act normal.

"Hey!" She choked as she walked up to them.

"Hi." Raye's smile was strained, and almost a bit sad, "Funny running into you here."

"Isn't it?" Serena's eyes shifted accusingly to Mina who just shrugged and shook her head.

"I'm kind of glad I did." Raye continued, "I really wanted to say sorry for last night. I must have seemed like such a drama queen when I stormed out."

"It's really no big deal." Serena smiled awkwardly.

"Yeah," Mina agreed, "Darien shouldn't have been such a jerk to you."

"He really wasn't." Raye shrugged.

Mina either missed the social cue or intentionally ignored it, "He totally was! Like when I asked you about getting married and he was all, 'Raye, I don't think we need to be talking about that right now.' When it was clearly important to you!"

"Yeah…" Raye trailed off then said, "I just think about our future all the time, and I don't get that feeling from him at all. That's why I had to get out of there. It just really makes me feel… horrible."

Mina shocked both of them by exclaiming, "That guy is not worth your time!" She put her hands on Raye's shoulders and almost looked like she was going to shake her, "You deserve a man that makes you feel like nothing less than an irreplaceable treasure."

Raye started to open her mouth to protest, but Mina cut her off, "In fact, Serena's always talking about what an asshole he is." She turned, "Aren't you Serena?"

Serena choked and threw Mina a 'don't involve me in your madness' look.

"Forget about him, let's have breakfast." Mina put her arms around both of their shoulders and led them to a table.

Serena could have hit Mina. How was she supposed to talk about her feelings for Darien with his girlfriend sitting right there? An ugly little guilty feeling twisted in her stomach and she slid the menu away. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

* * *

_An: A bit short, but I hope you liked it! Sorry it's been a bit since my last upload. I've been working on some original fiction and got a bit side tracked._

_A couple of people have said that they want to see the story from Darien's perspective. I actually really wanted to do this chapter through his eyes, but I also want to be consistent and stick with Serena's voice and perspective so I *probably* won't tell any of the story through his point of view. I was thinking though, that once the story is finished, I might show the first few chapters from Darien's perspective, so you can see what he was thinking. _

_Just throwing that idea out there to see what you think about it. _


	8. Everybody's Sorry

Something red hot and sick twisted in Serena's gut as she listened to Raye and Mina talk. Somehow her flirtation with Darien had felt so innocent when she thought Raye was just a stuck up snob, but now she was seeing her as a person who could possibly get hurt and that stuck in her stomach and refused to leave.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm over reacting." Raye toyed with the straw in her orange juice, her eyes looking absent and empty. "Somehow I always feel like I am."

Mina looked from Raye to Serena. She didn't look like she was accusing her of anything, but her eyes intensified the guilt rotting away inside Serena. It was a guilt they both shared for meddling in someone else's relationship.

Serena cleared her dry throat, "Maybe you should tell Darien how you feel."

Moisture pooled at the corners of Raye's eyes. "Yeah. Maybe..." She sighed and a small, tired smile crept on to her face. "Thanks for talking to me guys. You have no idea how much I needed it."

"No problem." Serena smiled and it felt like a lie, making her feel nauseous.

"I gotta run, but let me get the bill."

"No. It's fine." Serena held her hand up in protest.

"Nonsense." Mina cut in. "Serena just doesn't know how to let someone treat her."

Serena pinched Mina under the table. She didn't react and Serena was starting to doubt if she was human at all.

Raye smiled and this time it looked more genuinely happy. "It's really my pleasure. I'd love to do this again some time."

Serena and Mina just smiled, stunned at the turn of events as Raye turned and left. Serena's eyes fell on Mina in a dark rage.

"What?" Mina held her hands up in an attempt at innocence, "None of this is my fault."

"Just stop it." The sharpness in Serena's voice took all the fun out of Mina's expression. "You act like you're this love guru, but the truth is that you don't care about anyone's feelings. You're just messing around and you don't care what happens." She finished her sentence with more bitterness than she'd intended and the truth is that she shocked herself as much as she did Mina.

Mina looked like she'd been slapped. She sat with a stunned look on her face, then lowered her head and muttered quietly, "Sorry."

Serena knew she couldn't blame Mina for the guilt that she felt, but she could still give her a hard time. "This isn't a game Mina. These are people's hearts and feelings."

Serena rarely saw Mina speechless. She usually responded to any kind of criticism with a shrug and a flip of her hair and some kind of stupid objection. She was silent.

Serena sighed. "I'm not mad, Mina. I'm just done. I don't want you getting involved in my love life anymore."

Mina nodded, stood, and muttered, "sorry," one more time before leaving the restaurant.

Serena didn't feel better for telling Mina off. She just felt worse, like she'd just lost an ally in her fight, but it had to be done. She couldn't let Mina keep fooling around like this was a game. She wished she were numb. She didn't want to feel any of this. She didn't want to be pissed at Mina. She didn't want to feel bad for Raye. She definitely, most definitely, did not want to have feelings for Darien Shields. And she wished she could stop feeling so damned guilty about all of it.

Her phone buzzed on the table. It was a text from an unknown number that she knew must be Andrews.

'_hey i had a great time last night. i was hoping i could take you out some time.'_

And that was just too much. All the feelings in Serena's stomach twisted up together in a horrible knot and she couldn't take it anymore. She stuffed her phone in her pocket and wandered out of the restaurant. She started walking. She didn't know where she was going, she just wanted to walk. In a way it felt like escaping, but her thoughts kept going back to the same place, last night, and Darien's lips on her skin. And the weird thing was that when she thought about that, the feelings in her stomach didn't bother her. She just felt happy.

And then she heard his voice. She froze, looked around. She didn't see him anywhere, but then she heard Raye's voice as well. Serena looked up. Their voices were coming from an apartment balcony above her. She cursed the impossible probability that she would accidentally run into these people for the third time this weekend. They couldn't see her from where they were standing, and she thought about moving on discretely, but her curiosity got the better of her.

Darien's voice was full of emotion, "I'm sorry." He said it again lower, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"It's okay" Raye's sounded croaky from crying. "I'm just glad we finally talked."

"I care about you so much Raye." For some reason this stabbed at Serena. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know."

Serena heard a sliding door open and close and then it was silent above her. Her heart was pounding. Her chest hurt. She didn't want to think about what she'd just heard. What she shouldn't have heard. She was as bad as Mina now.

She crept away feeling like a burglar. She wasn't thinking anything now. There was just a black throbbing in her head. She couldn't slow her heart down as she reached into her pocket. She didn't really know what she was doing when she pulled up the text from Andrew and punched in the words;

'_i had fun too. id love to go out again.'_

* * *

_AN: Sorry, sorry, sorry. I feel really bad for not updating in so long. I'm just kind of catching up after publishing my first book this month. (before you go looking it up, I'll tell you that it's very *ahem*_ adult _so unless you're into that kind of thing, just stick to my FF. If you are interested, it's called _Act Three_ and you can find it on Amazon.)__ I really want to continue telling the story and I appreciate everyone reading and hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks again everyone!_


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